I've Never Forgotten
by RiAddison
Summary: Shikamaru Nara has been in love with Ino since they were little, and finally gets the courage to tell her...What will happen? Please read! ShikaxIno NaruxSaku
1. Letters and Bruises

Hello my lovely readers!! This is Ri-chan, just wanted to tell you that this story is dedicated to Beany09 (go check her out)!!

Disclaimer: (sigh) Do I have to go through this again. I don't own Naruto, which we all know I don't. What a drag…

* * *

Shikamaru Nara sighed, his eyes taking in every aspect of the girl, her shimmering platinum blond hair, her graceful body, her luminous pale blue eyes sparking as she argued with a pink-haired girl. Ino, he thought, the girl that waltzed through his dreams at night. He'd had a crush on her since they were taught by Aruka-sensei. He had been secretly thrilled when they had been assigned to the same team. Of course she liked Sasuke Uchiha. What was it about that guy that had every girl swooning over him; Shikamaru wasn't even sure Sasuke liked girls. But that was up for debate. But Sasuke wasn't in Konoha anymore; he had left and betrayed his village to join ranks with the filth called Orochimaru. With Sasuke gone, Shikamaru hoped he had a chance with Ino. That she had forgotten about the traitor. That she had moved on. But that could wait till tomorrow; right now he had more pressing matters to attend to.

* * *

Meanwhile, Ino was fighting with Sakura.

"Billboard brow!" Ino shouted at Sakura, her eyes shooting fire at the pink haired girl.

"Ino-pig!!" Sakura shouted, as she and Ino continued to throw insults at each other. Neither of the two noticing Naruto watching.

"Um…Sakura-chan?" Naruto said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

Finally noticing the blushing blond, Sakura turned towards Naruto, "Yes? What do you want?"

Naruto, having finally gotten the girls attention flushed red, obviously embarrassed, "Um, could I talk to you in private? Please."

Ino, watching the two, said, "Whatever…" and turned and walked away.

"What'd you want Naruto?" Sakura said, looking expectantly at Naruto.

"Um…w-well I-I", Naruto stuttered, looking very uncomfortable, "Well Sakura-chan, um, I was wondering, w-well if you wanted to go do something with m-me? Like as a d-d-date."

Sakura, a bit shell-shocked, just stared at Naruto. Naruto mistaking her silence turned to go, obviously humiliated.

"Wait Naruto," Sakura spoke, her voice barely a sigh on the wind, "That sounds like fun."

Now it was Naruto's turn to be shocked into to silence.

"Really Sakura-chan?"

"Really, and another thing, if we're going to be dating, you need to stop calling me Sakura-chan, its just plain Sakura," Sakura smiled, who needed the jerk Sasuke anyway.

* * *

Later that night as Shikamaru lay bed he thought of Ino. He wondered what she was doing, if she was asleep or thinking of Sasuke like he was thinking of Ino. Shikamaru sighed, would he ever get his chance for Ino to love him the way she loved Sasuke. That Sasuke guy was so troublesome. Shikamaru wished he would completely disappear from their lives. But no, a guy like Sasuke would never completely disappear, he would come back one day. But until that day Shikamaru vowed he would do his best to try to win Ino over. Somehow.

* * *

In her bedroom at her house, Ino was sitting at her desk writing a letter.

_Dear Sasuke-kun,_

_I know you think I'm annoying and really don't care, but I want to tell you that I love you. You are everything I want; smart, strong, handsome, and so hard-working. I don't think I'll ever love anyone else as long as I know there is a chance you feel the same way. I love you so much I would die for you. I hope one day that you will feel as strongly for me. Until that day I will wait for you. _

_Devotedly Yours,_

_Ino_

Finished with the letter, Ino slipped it in her pocket, to carry it with her in case Sasuke came back.

* * *

The next day Shikamaru woke up late, he had a meeting with his old sensei.

"Damn it! Just what I need!" he said as he rushed to put on his chuunin vest and grab his kunai pouch.

Shikamaru hurried out the front door and onto the street, running without watching where he was going. As Shikamaru turned a corner he ran right smack into Ino. He watched in horror as she fell backwards and landed on her backside.

Ino, surprised as much as angry, looked up to see who had run into her.

"Watch where you're going Shikamaru!"Ino yelled, her dignity pretty much shot at the moment, "Why are in such a hurry anyway?"

"Oh, I'm sorry Ino. I'm, uh," Shikamaru got tongue-tied all of a sudden, "I have a meeting."

"Oh," Ino said, as she got up, rubbing her lower back, "Well just make sure you don't run into anymore people."

Shikamaru grinned sheepishly, "I won't."

"Ok, well I got to go, bye," Ino said, walking away.

Shikamaru just stood there until Ino disappeared. When he could no longer see her, he let out the breath he'd been holding. As he did, he spotted something on the ground, it was an envelope. Shikamaru picked it up. Ino must have dropped it when she fell, he thought. He wondered what was in it, but he decided it could wait till later. He put in his pocket and continued to his meeting with more caution.

* * *

Thank you for reading!! (flying glomp)

Stay tuned for the second chapter, which should be up soon. Please fave and review. 3


	2. Confession

Woot! The second chappie is here!! Enjoy !! 3

Disclaimer: So troublesome…I don't own Naruto…blah, blah, blabbity, blah…wish I was staring at clouds…

* * *

Later that day as Shikamaru was making his way home from his meeting with Asuma, he thought of his run in with Ino earlier that day.

_(Flashback:_

"_Oh," Ino said, as she got up, rubbing her lower back, "Well just make sure you don't run into anymore people."_

_Shikamaru grinned sheepishly, "I won't."_

"_Ok, well I got to go, bye," Ino said, walking away. _

_Shikamaru just stood there until Ino disappeared. When he could no longer see her, he let out the breath he'd been holding. As he did, he spotted something on the ground, it was an envelope.)_

Shikamaru wondered what was in the envelope, it was killing him, but he decided it could wait until he stopped to get something to eat. Having decided that he made his way to Ikiraku ramen shop. As he rounded the corner he spotted Naruto and Sakura holding hands entering the shop.

_What was up with that_, he thought; _guess I'll find out soon._

Entering the shop he sat down in the seat next to Naruto.

"Hey", Shikamaru said to the blushing couple, "What's up with you guys? Are you dating?"

Naruto blushed bright red and started stuttering, so Sakura answered instead, "Yes, we are…", she said sweetly a pink flush tinting her cheeks.

_Well that's interesting,_ Shikamaru thought, _who woulda ever thought that a girl could actually get over that duck butt Sasuke. _

Ten minutes later Shikamaru was finished eating. He paid his tab and headed home, anxious to read the letter.

* * *

Back at home Shikamaru took off his jacket and settled himself in a comfy chair to read the letter. Opening the letter, Shikamaru started to read:

_Dear Sasuke-kun,_

_I know you think I'm annoying and really don't care, but I want to tell you that I love you. You are everything I want; smart, strong, handsome, and so hard-working. I don't think I'll ever love anyone else as long as I know there is a chance you feel the same way. I love you so much I would die for you. I hope one day that you will feel as strongly for me. Until that day I will wait for you. _

_Devotedly Yours,_

_Ino_

Finished with the letter, Shikamaru just sat there, defeat written on every inch of his face. He tried to hide it, but the hurt was too great. That night was the first time Shikamaru cried, finally falling asleep in the chair.

* * *

The next morning Shikamaru woke up, a crick in his neck from sleeping in an odd position. He felt alright and wondered why he was so uncomfortable and why his face felt so swollen.

_Odd, _he thought, and went in the bathroom to get ready for work.

When he was washing his face, the memory of last night rushed through his head, making him grip the towel. But Shikamaru didn't cry, he refused to, he stayed optimistic in a way that only those crazy in love can.

On the way out Shikamaru put the letter away under his bed, vowing never to read it again.

* * *

"Morning Shikamaru!" Asuma called, waving as Shikamaru approached.

"Hello Sensei," Shikamaru returning his old sensei's greeting.

"I've told you I'm not your sensei anymore. So stop calling me that."

"Whatever," Shikamaru said, looking up at the clouds, then on impulse, he asked, "Sensei, Can I ask you something. It's about a girl I like, I need advice."

"K."

Shikamaru scratched the back of his head sheepishly before starting, "Well I like this girl, she's amazing, beautiful, strong…" Shikamaru started to ramble on about how great this girl he liked was.

"Shikamaru back to the point."

Shikamaru grinned awkwardly, "Oh yea. Well I like her but she doesn't feel the same for me. She openly admits she likes someone else. What do I do, Sensei?"

"So you like Ino?"Asuma chuckled.

"WHAT?! No I don't…"Shikamaru flushing face quickly giving away the lie.

"Well, the only advice I can give you is to tell her how you feel, and leave the rest of it to her and fate."

Shikamaru was silent for a while, "I guess your right…"

"Of course I'm right," Asuma grinned.

* * *

Back at home Ino was freaking out…

'_Where is it? I had it earlier!!' _Ino thought as she frantically searched for the letter she had written to Sasuke. Suddenly she thought, _'Crap! I hope it didn't fall out when I ran into Shikamaru earlier this week. Maybe I should ask him if he saw anything…'_

* * *

At Shikamaru's house, Ino was on the front porch waiting for Shikamaru to answer the door.

"Coming," A voice answered from somewhere inside.

Slowly the door opened and a spiky-haired head emerged.

"Hey Ino, what do you want?"Shikamaru asked, puzzled.

"Well, um, I wanted to ask you, the other day, when we ran into each other, did I leave anything behind? Like an envelope?"

Shikamaru, pretending boredom and ignorance, said, "Um, no, I don't remember you leaving anything behind. Why? Was it that important?"

Ino, slightly disappointed, sighed, "No not really…thanks Shikamaru."

Defeated and upset, Ino turned away and started to make her way down the steps, when Shikamaru called out.

"Ino, um, can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"W-well, u-um…"Shikamaru's voice trailed off as his face flamed in embarrassment.

'_That's odd, why is Shikamaru acting so weird? And why's his face so red?'_, Ino thought to herself, as Shikamaru got his act together.

"Well…geez, this is so troublesome...um, well, I love you Ino, quite a bit."

Ino just stood there, her eyes wide.

'_I love you Ino…I love you…'_ That phrase kept ringing through her mind.

To say that she was shocked was an understatement. This was her teammate, one of her best friends. And he loved her, what the heck?

After a few minutes of shocked silence, Ino finally managed to gather her wits.

"Shikamaru…I…"

* * *

I know that was a very, very evil place to end, but I couldn't help it, I got writers' block all of a sudden, and I really wanted to have a cliffy.

Please forgive me…I will try to update and post chapter three as soon as possible. But I'm really busy with work and school.

Please fave and review!


	3. Declarations & Homecomings

Hey!! 3

The third chapter is here!! I really got inspired to write this chapter so I hope it's good! And I didn't do it last chapter, but I'd like to reply to reviews…

Replies:

Cat.ninja.assasin: Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked it! 3

BlueXPinkX21: Thank you for your wonderful reviews and faves and alerts!! Hehe… glomp I hope you like this chapter as well.

Daxo: Thanks for pointing that out to me…but you could have been a little bit less rude about it…like sending me a PM. Or just not of reviewed…

* * *

"_Well…geez, um, I love you Ino, quite a bit." _

_Ino just stood there, her eyes wide._

'_I love you Ino…I love you…' That phrase kept ringing through her mind. _

_To say that she was shocked was an understatement. This was her teammate, one of her best friends. And he liked her, what the heck? _

_After a few minutes of shocked silence, Ino finally managed to gather her wits._

"Shikamaru…I…don't know what to say…you're my friend and I love you, but just not in that way."

Shikamaru's shoulders sagged in despair and utter hopelessness

"I understand…its ok, it was just a silly crush. Haha...I don't know what I was thinking," Shikamaru said sheepishly, acting carefree even though he was dying inside, "Well I better get dressed I have a meeting with Asuma-sensei."

"Ok, well I'll just be going," And with that Ino walked down Shikamaru's front steps away from the one person who loved her more than life itself.

* * *

"Hey Asuma-sensei…"Shikamaru said, never looking up to meet his former sensei's eyes.

"Shikamaru I told you…"Asuma's voice trailed off as he noticed Shikamaru's forlorn pose, "What's wrong Shikamaru?"

"Sensei…have you ever lost the love of your life?"

"Yes, and I know how painful it can be…so Ino rejected you?"

"Yes…she's still in love with Sasuke. What is it about that guy?"Shikamaru scowled as he thought of Sasuke.

"Who knows…you can't help who you fall in love with…sometimes love makes no sense…"Asuma said wisely, as all sensei are when their students need advice.

Shikamaru paused, thinking about what his old sensei had said, "I guess your right…but it doesn't make it any easier to bear."

"Exactly, but life will go on and you will meet someone else who is perfect for you, believe it or not."

"Yea," Shikamaru whispered, looking up at the clouds.

* * *

The next day Shikamaru woke up with a feeling that something big and not particularly welcome was going to happen today. But as thinking used to much effort at the moment, he didn't dwell on it.

Stretching, Shikamaru got out of bed and went downstairs for some good old cereal. When he got downstairs, he heard a loud banging on his front door.

"Yes?"When he opened the door he saw Choji on his porch, an odd look on his face, "What is it Choji?"

"You'll never guess what happened…Sasuke Uchiha has come back to the village…"

Shikamaru paled and his hand gripped the door harder, "I bet Ino's happy…"

Choji, who never missed his friends reactions, said, "She doesn't know yet. But we've all been summoned to the Hokage's office for something."

"Ok…let me get something on…come on in."

Ten minutes later Shikamaru came back downstairs fully dressed, "Let's go."

* * *

At the Hokage's office Shikamaru and Choji met up with their other teammate, Ino.

"Hey Shikamaru," Ino said, trying to look him in the eyes, but he kept avoiding her gaze.

"Whatever…" Shikamaru said, looking bored.

Just then, Tsunade walked out of her office, "As many of you have already heard Sasuke Uchiha has come back to the village."

Ino gasped, she was the only one who didn't know and hadn't been told beforehand.

Tsunade continued, ignoring Ino's gasp, "When he left he was officially considered a missing nin. And due to that factor he will have a trial, to see if he has truly mended his ways, and then his punishment shall be decided."

After Tsunade's little speech, the door to her office opened and Sasuke, the topic of everyone's conversation, walked out.

"Sasuke!!" Ino cried, receiving a stern look from Tsunade and a cool glance from Sasuke.

"Until the trial he shall be Team 7's responsibility. You two are not allowed to let him out of you sights, got it?" Tsunade asked, glaring at Naruto and Sakura in turn. They both nodded.

Sasuke walked over to his old teammates, "Hey…Sakura," Ignoring Naruto completely.

Sakura glared at him, "What are you doing here…traitor…"

Sasuke looked away, he knew he deserved that and so much more, but it still hurt from the one girl who had loved him.

"So you're dating this loser…?"

"Yes, and he's ten times better than you ever were or could ever be…" Sakura said, giving Sasuke a frigid look.

"Really Sakura?" Naruto said, looking at Sakura with love shining in his eyes.

"Naruto, its obvious how I feel about you…I love you with all my heart!" Sakura threw her arms around a stunned yet pleased Naruto.

Naruto wrapped Sakura in a tight embrace, and kissed her in front of everyone, as they broke apart he whispered, "I love you too! More than you could ever know!

When they broke apart everyone was in shock. Nobody, except Shikamaru, knowing that they were even going out.

"Whatever," Sasuke said, walking away.

Everyone else had nothing but compliments for the happy couple.

* * *

Hey!! I was going to continue it in this chapter, but I decided not to. But I hope everyone likes the NaruXSaku part, I couldn't help myself, and I had to write it. Lol.

But the fourth chapter (WOW!! Fourth chappie already?) should be up soon. So stay tuned!! And please review and fave!!


	4. Kisses & Dreams

Hello my readers!!! Sorry about the delay of getting chapter four up, I've been outta ideas, and really busy. But here it is, so enjoy!!! And in reply to reviews…

**jadedXelement:** Lol, I like NaruSaku as well, they make such a cute couple. Thank you, hope you like this chapter.

**Beany09: **Gosh Clarice, I thought you were my friend, lol, jkjk. Its ok, I didn't have "Dream" on my fave list at first.

**Champion of Justice**: Thank you so much!!!

* * *

As everyone congratulated the happy couple Ino followed Sasuke. This didn't go unnoticed by a certain lazy ninja, who turned away, defeat in his eyes.

"Hey Sasuke!" Ino yelled running to catch up with the duck-haired ninja.

"What do you want?" Sasuke asked bluntly, not a shred of kindness in his voice.

"Well, um…I just wanted to tell you that Sakura was wrong, I don't think you're a traitor. And well…um, to give you this," Ino blushed as she handed Sasuke a letter, a rewritten version of the note Shikamaru had found.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked, eyeing the envelope warily.

"Just read it later…" Ino's voice trailed off as she ran down the street.

"Whatever…"

* * *

That night Ino was in bed, wondering if Sasuke had read the letter, when she heard a slight noise outside her window. Jumping out of bed and grabbing her kunai, she tiptoed to the window.

"Whose there?" Her voice quivering just the tiniest bit.

"It's me…" Sasuke's voice surprised Ino so much she dropped her kunai.

Sasuke entered her room, causing Ino to back up.

Sasuke grabbed her hands and looked in her eyes, "Did you mean it?"

"W-what?" Ino asked, her voice skipping.

"Did you mean what you said in the letter?"

Ino looked up in to Sasuke's eyes, now was her chance. But why did Shikamaru's face pop into her mind? This was crazy, Sasuke, who she had loved for years, was holding her hands. But why couldn't she stop thinking of Shikamaru?

Ino forcibly pushed all thoughts of Shikamaru aside, and answered, "Yes, I meant every word."

Emotion flickered in Sasuke's eyes, almost like sadness, but then vanished as he lowered his head and kissed a very surprised Ino, square on the lips.

The kiss didn't last long, but to Ino it seemed like years. It was her first kiss, but she didn't feel anything. There was no flicker of longing, no fireworks, missed heartbeats, no warmth, there was nothing.

Ino mentally shook her head, clearly away all doubts about the kiss. After all she had been in love with Sasuke since she was little, so that had to count for something, right?

"How was that?" Sasuke asked, giving Ino a grin.

Ino looked up, not meeting Sasuke's eyes, and said, "It was great!"

Sasuke smiled, "Well I should go, it's really late. I'll see you later. Bye!" And after another quick peck, disappeared through the window.

Ino didn't say anything; she just rolled over and went back to bed, although her sleep was riddled with dreams of Sasuke and Shikamaru.

* * *

The next day Ino was walking to meet with Asuma, when she ran into Shikamaru.

"Hi Ino, how are you?" Shikamaru asked, looking anywhere but at Ino.

Ino, faced with one of the objects of her dream, blushed bright red and stuttered, "I'm f-fine. And how a-are you, S-Shikamaru?"

Drawn by her stuttering, Shikamaru looked up, and stared at Ino's very red face, "Are you okay Ino? Your red, you don't have a fever or anything, do you?"

Ino just stared at him for a minute, "I have to go!"

Shikamaru stared dumbfounded at Ino's retreating back. He was totally puzzled by the konichi behavior; she never acted like that around him. In fact it reminded him a lot of how he had acted when he had confessed to Ino. Shaking his head, Shikamaru forced his mind to think about more important things, like his upcoming mission.

* * *

As Ino walked away from Shikamaru her face became less and less red, at least until she ran into the other object of her dreams.

"Hey Ino…" Sasuke said, looking at Ino thoughtfully, "How did you sleep last night?"

"Terrible!" Ino snapped, and then caught herself horrified as she saw the hurt in Sasuke's eyes, "I mean, I didn't sleep very well. Thanks for asking."

Sasuke was silent for a moment, and Ino thought he might just turn and walk away.

"I'm sorry, I probably kept you up, huh? I had meant to talk to you about your letter in the daytime, but I just couldn't wait."

Ino looked at Sasuke, "Its ok, it's not just your fault I didn't sleep well."

Looking relieved, Sasuke grinned, "Hey Ino, do you want to go do something together?"

Not really, Ino thought, but instead of voicing it out loud, she replied, "Sure, but I can't today, I have stuff to do today."

"What about tomorrow? Are you free tomorrow?"

"Um…yea, I guess," Ino answered, looking kind of uncomfortable.

"Great! See you tomorrow!" And with that, Sasuke walked away.

Ino watched him walk away, wondering what was going on. The broody, mysterious, quiet Sasuke she had always liked was gone, replaced with this nonchalant, vivacious, new Sasuke. It was just plain weird. And what was up with his newfound interest in her, she had always thought he liked Sakura, so why was he asking her out. Then there was Shikamaru liking her, and the fact she couldn't stop thinking about him. Ino shook her head, reality, she decided, was severely screwed up.

* * *

Phew!!! The fourth chapter is finally finished, after almost three months of working on it. I finally got out of my writers block, and was able to finish this chapter. Hopefully I will have chapter five up soon, but I don't currently have any ideas for it, but I'll try my best.

And yes, Sasuke has changed a lot since he came back to the village, he's less like the old Sasuke we all know and love and more like a mix of old Sasuke and Naruto.

Hope you liked it, and please review!!!


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